The Professional Football League (LFP) announced the postponement of two headline matches of the first round of the Ligue 1 Mobilis 2025-2026 championship, between JS Kabylie and USM Alger, and MC Alger and CR Belouizdad. Originally scheduled between August 21 and 23, these major fixtures have been delayed to a later date to allow the teams to manage constraints related to the African Nations Championship for local players (CHAN 2024 postponed to 2025), currently taking place in East Africa, which involves several players from these clubs.
This decision reflects the LFP’s desire to offer the best possible conditions to clubs engaged simultaneously in international and national competitions, especially to support the teams representing Algeria with dignity. The postponement mainly concerns clubs heavily involved on the continental level, such as USM Alger, MC Alger, CR Belouizdad, and JS Kabylie, which include several local internationals called up for CHAN.
Thus, the league decided to maintain the start of the championship with other scheduled matches, such as MC Oran – ES Ben Aknoun and JS Saoura – MB Rouissat, while the postponed matches will be rescheduled later according to the teams’ calendars and stadium availability. This adjustment also aims to ensure sporting fairness and preserve the quality of the championship matches.
The full schedule is yet to be finalized, but the already announced postponements demonstrate a cautious and methodical management of the calendar to accommodate the requirements of local, continental, and international competitions. Supporters will have to wait before enjoying these traditional derbies between Algerian football giants, two highly anticipated confrontations that regularly mark the highlight of the Ligue 1 Mobilis season.